english
1
general::
verb
imitate:
We shall follow our leader's example.
verb
come after:
Prosperity will follow hard work.
verb
obey:
We will follow the rules completely.
verb
chase:
Follow that car!
verb
understand:
Do you follow my instructions?
Simple Definitions
2
general::
In addition to the idioms beginning with FOLLOW, Also see AS FOLLOWS; CAMP FOLLOWER; HARD ACT TO FOLLOW.
American Heritage Idioms
3
general::
follow
to walk, drive etc behind or after someone, for example in order to see where they are going:
• The man had followed her home to find out where she lived. • Follow that car! • He hired a detective to follow her.
chase
to quickly run or drive after someone or something in order to catch them when they are trying to escape:
• Police chased the car along the motorway at speeds of up to 90 mph.
run after somebody/go after somebody
to quickly follow someone or something in order to stop them or talk to them:
• I ran after him to say sorry, but he’d already got on the bus.
stalk
to secretly follow an animal in order to kill it, or to secretly follow a person in order to attack them:
• a tiger stalking its prey • He had a long history of stalking women in his neighbourhood.
pursue
written to chase someone in a very determined way:
• The ship was being pursued by enemy submarines.
give chase
written to chase someone or something who is trying to escape from you:
• One of the officers gave chase and arrested the man. • The calf ran away and the lion gave chase.
tail
to secretly follow someone in order to watch what they do and where they go:
• Apparently, the police had been tailing the terrorists for months.
track
to follow and find a person or animal by looking at the marks they leave on the ground:
• The bushmen were tracking antelope in the Kalahari desert.
Longman-Thesaurus
4
general::
follow sth up
( US also follow up on sth )
to find out more about something, or take further action connected with it
• The idea sounded interesting and I decided to follow it up.
• He decided to follow up on his initial research and write a book., follow through
to complete the movement of hitting, kicking or throwing a ball by continuing to move your arm or leg in the same direction
• You need to follow through more on your backhand., follow on
mainly UK
to happen or exist as the next part of something
• Following on from what I said earlier..., follow (sth) through
[ M ]
to do something as the next part of an activity or period of development
• The essay started interestingly, but failed to follow through (its argument).
Cambridge-Phrasal Verbs
5
general::
verb go after sb/sth ADV. closely Johnson finished first, closely followed by Stevens and Higgins. | dutifully, obediently The dog followed obediently at her heels. | blindly She followed blindly, stumbling over stones in her path. | on You go ahead and we'll follow on later. VERB + FOLLOW beckon (to) sb to She beckoned him to follow her. happen after sth ADV. closely, quickly, shortly, swiftly The next programme will follow shortly. | immediately in the period immediately following the election happen/be true as a result of sth ADV. not necessarily It does not necessarily follow that sleep loss would cause these symptoms. PREP. (on) from Several conclusions follow on from his statement. accept advice/instructions ADV. carefully Follow my instructions very carefully. | dutifully, obediently copy ADV. faithfully The film follows the book faithfully. | blindly, slavishly It wasn't in his nature to follow blindly. slavishly following the views of his teachers VERB + FOLLOW be expected to, be likely to Banks are expected to follow the building societies in raising mortgage rates. PHRASES follow suit (figurative) (= act or behave in the way that sb else has just done) understand sth ADV. not quite I'm sorry, but I don't quite follow you (= understand what you are saying). VERB + FOLLOW be easy to | be difficult to, be hard to, be impossible to His argument was difficult to follow.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary